So you have a hot date? Congratulations! There are many aspects of a first date that can be stressful, so today I am going to try to help you check one thing off the list: what to drink.

Beer
Beer is a great option for several reasons. First, it usually takes longer to become intoxicated. No one wants to get sloppy on a first date, and beer will let you loosen up without becoming completely untied. Also, you can pair your beer with your food, making your meal more enjoyable and possibly scoring some Food Network points. The last reason why beer is a good choice is that it you can make it last a long time. You drink at your own pace, casually sipping if the night is going well or guzzling if the date is not going so well. If love is a battlefield, then beer is a versatile ally.

Local Beers
Local beers are a solid choice because it shows that you did a little research and want to literally drink in your current surroundings. A good choice in Cincinnati would be a Christian Moerlein OTR Ale. In Louisville, Falls City is an excellent beer if you can get it and the Bluegrass Brewing Company should offer a beer that you can enjoy as well.

Seasonal Beers
Seasonal beers are a way of showing that you are hip and current. A Christmas beer will let your date know that you are not a Grinch. This also varies by location, but if you do a little reconnaissance work, most restaurants have their drink list on their website. If you are going to a place without a website, your date probably won’t care what you are drinking anyway. Most places will have something seasonal on tap. Check ahead or ask your server.

What Not To Order
Experimental Beer
The only ‘rule’ that I can give you is to get something you know you like. So if you like lager-style beers, it would not be advised to order the double I.P.A. As impressed as you think your date will be, the ‘choking-down-this-beer-that-I-hate’ face is not attractive. A first date is no time to get experimental with your beer palate. Stick to what you know.

The Special
In the event that your first date destination has a beer special, I would avoid it. Most of the time, it is Bud/Miller/Coors, and what does getting the special really say about you? I am cheap and enjoy cheap beer.

The “Big-Ass-Beer”
Some restaurants have gigantic beers as an option (i.e., Hofbrauhaus 1-liter mugs). Shy away from this option for three reasons. Strike one, your date may think you are an alcoholic. Strike two, you are on this date to interact and socialize, not to drink. And strike three, assuming you are as charming as I imagine you are, your beer will get warm as you converse with your guest. The “Big-Ass-Beer” is out.

First dates are a time for high nerves and small talk. By putting some thought into your drink selection, if the conversation runs dry you now have something to talk about, your beer! Good luck.

Cumberland Brews is a great watering hole in Louisville, Ky. It’s a mix of brewery, hipsters, and featured quesadillas. And every Monday, they will fill your growler for $5. Yes, $5 for a growler refill.

Not every draft is available with the deal, but their staple brews (Nitro Porter, Cream Ale, Red Ale, and Pale Ale) are there every week along with a seasonal or two. Recently I snagged a jug of the Brown’s Brown Ale.

Brown’s Brown is a nut brown ale (i.e., Newcastle), which is one of my favorite styles of beer. It has a very dark brown color and a coffee colored head. A nut aroma is expected along with some mild caramel notes. A great aspect of this particular beer is the smooth mouth-feel. I am not sure if it qualifies as a session beer, but beware that you can consume pints quickly. The balance of the beer flavor and the nut flavor is well done. You know that you are drinking a beer. There is a great hazelnut flavor that carries throughout the drink and through the aftertaste. It is slightly less sweet than a New Castle, but they are in the business of beer not candy.

If you are in the neighborhood, I would highly recommend dropping in and grabbing a brew from Cumby’s. The Brown’s Brown is a solid choice for all you New Castle fans out there, or for anyone trying to impress their friends and upgrade from Bud Light. If you miss their Brown’s Brown, they also have a Simcoe IPA and a Special Bitter (the latter is eligible for a growler refill).

As you may know, I’m busy in real life launching a start-up. (Our software goes live Jan 21!) Because of that, I’m not as attentive to this blog as I would like. Kevin is helping here and there, but he is also working full-time. So we’re adding a new writer! We are keeping it in the family though.

Michelle & Steve

Steve is Kevin’s younger brother. He just graduated from the University of Louisville in May and is looking at law school for fall. He’s become quite the beer connoisseur and is also interested in spirits. I know this is My Wine Education, but I seem to have a lot of beer drinking readers as well. In addition to my wine posts, you’ll be watching Steve’s journey through learning about both beer and spirits. It should be fun, because he’s so much younger than Kevin and me. It should lead to some fun opinions and reviews.

Thanks to all of you, my readers and friends, the Krystal Pepper Memorial Scholarship Fund is now only $1700 $1300 short of our goal of $25,000 by January. We need your help just a little more though.

On Wednesday night, Dec 1, join us at the Hebron Brew Haus for “Wet Wednesday.” All tips will go to the scholarship fund, so tip big! Additionally, we’ll have split the pot, raffles, and t-shirt sales.

You can learn more about the Hebron Brew Haus on Twitter, Facebook, and through the Hoperatives. Hebron Brew Haus has food (type: bar food) as well as beer in bottles and drafts.

Ahead of the Disney Epcot Food and Wine festival, Michelle and I stopped for dinner at Portobello in Downtown Disney. The past few years, we’ve kicked off our trip with Irish pub Raglan Road, but we decided to switch things up a little.

Eating at the bar allows for a choice of 4 different speciality meatballs. The beef, pork, or chicken meatballs are 1.95 each add a dollar for the salmon. You can also get a selection of 3 for 5.00 (6.00 if you pick salmon). Each type of meat is paired with a single spice to drive the pairing: Chicken with Sage, Salmon with Tarragon. My favorites were the spicy pork and beef meatballs, while Michelle enjoyed the chicken.

I was also able to try two beers from Orlando Brewing which is an organic brewery located not surprisingly in Orlando. I started with the EPA (English Pale Ale) which had a fantasic amount of malt to help balance the hops. There was almost a caramel flavor at the end right before the bitterness came in. It was a nice and round flavored beer that went really well with the Spicy Pork and Beef meatballs. The sage and the hops didn’t match as well.

For dessert, I tried a bottle of the Blackwater Porter, also from Orlando Brewing. Nice rich coffe flavor and a deeper color than I expected in a porter. The flavor was nice and paired well with one of the signature desserts, the Beerimisu. Michelle ordered this in order to keep her streak of trying Tiramisu deserts as often as possible.

Instead of an expresso, they added the same porter that I tried in order to get the roasted coffee flavor. It was a great switch that had us wondering if we could switch our tiramisu recipe at home to use a stout or porter. Nice and creamy with the light hint of coffee that Michelle prefers.

A great time the first night at the Meatball bar at Portobello in Downtown Disney.